Pick Them Up.

“When you pick up a child, you change their perspective. 

All of a sudden, they can see the world the way you see it.”

~ Walter Bond

One morning on my drive to work, I was listening to a motivational speech by Walter Bond. (I encourage you to listen to his full speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah7Rfzj47tM) While the target audience for this speech was perhaps athletes or business professionals, when I heard the words quoted above, tears filled my eyes. That’s my purpose, I thought. It’s that simple. Pick them up. Change their perspective.

An eighth-grader is sitting in your Language Arts class and hates it because they don’t think of themself as a reader. A previous teacher told them they would never be able to read big books.

Here’s your chance. Pick them up. Change their perspective.

You ask an eleventh-grader, “What do you want to do after you graduate?” They give a sarcastic laugh, “I don’t know. I can’t do anything.” Yesterday, someone in their family told them they would never be smart enough to make it into college.

Here’s your chance. Pick them up. Change their perspective.

When you “pick up” a child, teenager, or adult, you can unexpectedly shift their perspective of the present and future. But you first need to take the action of lifting them. Every day, there are opportunities for us to notice students who are hurting and hopeless. We may not know their experiences - the limiting ideas they have accepted about themselves or what others have told them. However, we do know the truths we can tell them, messages of hope, belief, and determination, giving them an open door to see themselves with value and purpose. During the hours they are with us, we are empowered to be changemakers.